A Roadmap for Integrating Sustainability into Software Engineering EducationShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, ISSN 1049-331X, E-ISSN 1557-7392, Vol. 34, no 5, article id 139Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
The world faces escalating crises: record-breaking temperatures, widespread fires, severe flooding, increased oceanic microplastics, and unequal resource distribution. Academia introduces courses around sustainability to meet the new demand, but software engineering education lags behind. While software systems contribute to environmental issues through high energy consumption, they also hold the potential for solutions, such as more efficient and equitable resource management. Yet, sustainability remains a low priority for many businesses, including those in the digital sector. Business as usual is no longer viable. A transformational change in software engineering education is urgently needed. We must move beyond traditional curriculum models and fully integrate sustainability into every aspect of software development. By embedding sustainability as a core competency, we can equip future engineers not only to minimise harm but also to innovate solutions that drive positive, sustainable change. Only with such a shift can software engineering education meet the demands of a world in crisis and prepare students to lead the next generation of sustainable technology. This article discusses a set of challenges and proposes a customisable education roadmap for integrating sustainability into the software engineering curricula. These challenges reflect our perspective on key considerations, stemming from regular, intensive discussions in regular workshops among the authors and the community, as well as our extensive research and teaching experience in the field.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) , 2025. Vol. 34, no 5, article id 139
Keywords [en]
Computing, Education, Software competencies, Software engineering, Software sustainability, Sustainability, Sustainability skills, Sustainable development goals, Sustainable software
National Category
Software Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-368535DOI: 10.1145/3708526ISI: 001505551000020Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105007971031OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-368535DiVA, id: diva2:1989822
Note
QC 20250818
2025-08-182025-08-182025-09-08Bibliographically approved